Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report A world away in 5 weeks

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Quote:

Originally Posted by thursdaysd (Post 16953410)

And I thought I saw a lot of temples! I admire your stamina.

Truthfully, too many temples, at least in one day!! And then we saw several more...we really didn't need to see them all, but I know that now in retrospect.

Fortunately, the next day was completely different...

One of my favorite activities was a visit to the small town, Alangudi, with the company, Farms and Strolls:
https://www.farmsandstrolls.com

From my review on TA:

“If you visit Tamill Nadu, then you must go on a village tour with Farms and Strolls. This is the perfect way to experience a different part of Tamil Nadu - by taking a village tour through a very small community and meeting locals involved in their day-to- day activities. We spent a half day with Farms and Strolls and really felt a part of the village life! We saw a range of activities, including fishing, gathering coconuts, even sitting with an elderly woman as she wove palm fronds. The trip ended with a cooking demonstration of a South Indian meal - and, of course, we got to eat the results!

This is a new venture by a local man with a passion for his community and a desire to help preserve the traditional way of life. What a joy meeting Jagan, his family, and the residents of Alangudi. And what a welcome relief to spend time here after intense temple touring!

We were warmly welcomed by Jagan and his family, and were greeted with a ceremony and cake to celebrate our 30th anniversary! We met at the family home, where were introduced to the extended family and learned about their traditions; walked through the large family garden; continued on to see an ancient Hindu temple, where we received prayers made by the local priest in honor of our anniversary; later went to the coconut plantation, where a delightful local man gleefully climbed up the palm tree to cut down several coconuts, preparing 2 for my husband and me to drink. We also saw men fishing, using traditional fishing methods; and watched as an elderly woman wove a palm frond deftly - an important skill as the woven leaves are used for roofing. We ended our tour back at the family home, with a cooking demonstration by Jagan’s mother, assisted by his aunt, which then became our lunch! It was served on a banana leaf in traditional Southern Indian style.

Please know that this is a new venture for the small company and for the village, and they are still exploring different places to visit and how much attention to give each activity. If some activities are more stimulating or successful than others, the overall feeling of this experience is both personal and very special….. This is a visit that you won’t regret making.”

Progol - loved the new photos and the TA report of your village tour. I wonder if there are similar activities elsewhere, as i have good and bad news to impart - I may have found someone who will come to India with me to tour independently and at a slow pace, but she wants to do northern India. She is my old american friend from Kent who has been staying with us for a few days. We have been on holiday together before a couple of times and have stayed with each other a lot so we get on pretty well. It would not be next year but probably the Spring of 2021, so plenty of time to plan. I will have to start rereading TRs of trips to Rajasthan.

in the meantime, please keep this coming.

annhig - there is a lot more to northern India than just Rajasthan!

I love these opportunities to visit various places put together by locals. Calcutta Walks started that way. We used them on dogster's recommendation and had a wonderful time.

Thank you, annhig, thursdaysd, and Kathie for your comments! I’m away for a week, so might not be able to post photos, but will most definitely upload from the tour!

annhig, it’s not “bad news” if your friend wants to go to Rajasthan - we went there (plus Varanasi and Agra) in 2013 and loved it! I’ll try to find it and post my earlier TR, but you can always find it if you do a search on my name. In truth, we found the first a more exhilarating trip, though we enjoyed this trip as well.

annhig, my trip report from our trip to India in 2013

https://www.fodors.com/community/asi...-india-966289/

And, I think the link to my Flickr album from 2013 still works!

Forgive me as I’m very lazy, and didn’t really organize or label the 1000+ photos, but they are in order, so if you follow the trip report, you should be able to figure out what you’re seeing. Or just ask!

What a nice touch by your hosts to welcome you on your anniversary. It's something you'll always remember.

tripplanner, the anniversary celebration was a lovely touch! It was one of several on our trip, too!

gosh- more lovely pics AND an anniversary cake! Unforgettable!

Thanks, annhig!

I’m now back home after a visit to family and hope to get back to this soon!

Thanks for sharing your trip and fabulous photos. I'm particularly excited as we have booked a trip to Kerala, TN and Karnaka in Nov / Dec. I'm looking forward to the next installment.
Any advice re appropriate clothing would be welcomed.